Venn Collaborative
Venn Collaborative is a founder-led advisory and professional-learning firm serving higher-education partnership professionals and community/economic developers. It monetizes the free C•CUBE ecosystem-building toolkit through paid Peer Learning Roundtables and Strategic Advisory engagements.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersEast Longmeadow, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Venn Collaborative does
Venn Collaborative, operated under James K. Woodell, LLC and registered in Washington, DC with operational offices in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, provides advisory, networking, and professional learning services to higher-education partnership professionals, with secondary reach into community, economic, and workforce developers. Its core product is the C•CUBE (Conversations for Colleges and Universities in Building Ecosystems) toolkit, a freely available online framework for entrepreneurial ecosystem builders that anchors the brand and drives top-of-funnel lead capture through dedicated guides ("5 Steps to Ecosystem Building Success" and "7 Strategic Questions for Aligning Partnerships, Priorities, and Impact"). Layered on top of the free toolkit are two monetized offerings: the C•CUBE Peer Learning Roundtables, an 8-week cohort-based paid program, and Strategic Advisory, an embedded thought-partnership consulting engagement for leaders navigating higher-education, regional-development, and innovation-ecosystem work.
The business operates a hybrid product-led and community-led go-to-market motion. Free content (toolkit, guides) feeds an email list ("Impact Network") and LinkedIn Live audience, which is then nurtured into paid Roundtables and bespoke advisory engagements. Distribution is direct-to-customer via the venncollaborative.org website, with credit-card payment processing; pricing is not publicly disclosed and appears to be set per engagement. The company is founder-led (Jim Woodell), privately held with no outside institutional investment, and operates at a micro scale of 1–10 employees. Strategic positioning leans on domain specialization at the intersection of higher education, regional development, and innovation ecosystems, with community partnerships (e.g., eShip Alliance) and institutional collaborations (e.g., Georgia Tech's Kayli Harlan, November 2025) used to broaden national reach without corresponding headcount expansion.
Venn Collaborative firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Venn Collaborative
- Legal name
- James K. Woodell, LLC
- Website
- https://venncollaborative.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Venn Collaborative is a founder-led advisory and professional-learning firm serving higher-education partnership professionals and community/economic developers. It monetizes the free C•CUBE ecosystem-building toolkit through paid Peer Learning Roundtables and Strategic Advisory engagements.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Venn Collaborative industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education Partnership Consulting
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Peer Feedback, Discussion Forums & Social Learning Communities (EDAFAGAH)
Keywords
Where Venn Collaborative is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- East Longmeadow
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Venn Collaborative business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
Revenue model
- Online Courses/Products: The website allows customers to purchase online courses (Products) for a fee. Each purchase is intended for one person and constitutes intellectual property of the company.
- Strategic Advisory Services: Embedded thought partnership for leaders navigating complex work in higher education, regional development, and innovation ecosystems. Provides consistent, expert support to help clarify direction, stay focused, and get results.
- Peer Learning Roundtables: 8-week cohort program to help engage entrepreneurship ecosystems and build stronger collaborations. Likely offered for a fee based on the product/service model described.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard paid products |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Venn Collaborative product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Venn Collaborative provides advisory, networking, and professional learning services to higher education partnership professionals and to institutions, leaders, and community/economic/workforce developers. Its named offerings include the C•CUBE Toolkit, C•CUBE Peer Learning Roundtables, Strategic Advisory services, and free C•CUBE guides on ecosystem building and aligning partnerships, priorities, and impact.
Product overview
Venn Collaborative offers a unified platform combining professional services, community networking, and professional learning for higher education partnership professionals and ecosystem developers. The core offering centers on the C•CUBE (Conversations for Colleges and Universities in Building Ecosystems) free online toolkit, which is supplemented by the C•CUBE Peer Learning Roundtables—an 8-week cohort program for hands-on ecosystem building. Strategic Advisory provides embedded consulting support for leaders, while free guides (5 Steps to Ecosystem Building Success and 7 Strategic Questions) serve as entry-point resources that drive users toward the C•CUBE toolkit and peer learning programs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- C•CUBE: A freely-available online toolkit for entrepreneurial ecosystem builders, featuring Conversations for Colleges and Universities in Building Ecosystems.
Products and services
- C•CUBE Toolkit A free online toolkit associated with the C•CUBE approach to ecosystem building for higher education partnership professionals.
- C•CUBE Peer Learning Roundtables An eight-week cohort program providing peer learning for higher education partnership professionals.
- Strategic Advisory Professional advisory services for higher education partnership professionals and institutional, community, economic, and workforce development leaders.
Companies that use Venn Collaborative
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Venn Collaborative technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Venn Collaborative partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Georgia Tech (Kayli Harlan)minorGeorgia Tech ecosystem leader Kayli Harlan co-presented on a LinkedIn Live session with Jim Woodell (Venn Collaborative) discussing the C•CUBE Toolkit and Peer Learning Roundtables. The session explored how Atlanta's ecosystem leaders used the Roundtable to strengthen collaboration.
- eShip AllianceminoreShip Alliance is referenced as 'A national community for ecosystem builders' and linked as a resource for C•CUBE users. Represents a community partner for the ecosystem builder community Venn Collaborative serves.
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Venn Collaborative competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Startup Genome: Research and advisory organization focused on entrepreneurship ecosystem benchmarking and ecosystem builder development. Overlaps with Venn's C•CUBE framework for ecosystem builders, but operates globally and at a policy/research scale.
Broad incumbents
- EDUCAUSE: Nonprofit membership community serving higher education IT and digital learning leaders through conferences, communities of practice, and professional learning. Comparable to Venn as a higher ed professional community, though EDUCAUSE focuses on technology leaders rather than partnership professionals.
- Huron Consulting Group: Large US consulting firm with a dedicated higher education practice that provides strategy, financial, and operational advisory to colleges and universities. Comparable to Venn's Strategic Advisory arm but operating at much greater scale and across a broader set of HE functional areas.
- Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation: Major US foundation focused on entrepreneurship education and ecosystem development, funding research, programs, and convenings. Comparable to Venn's mission of strengthening entrepreneurship ecosystems, though delivered via grantmaking and research rather than paid advisory.
- Battelle: Applied science and education consulting organization that supports STEM education, workforce development, and regional innovation initiatives. Comparable to Venn's intersection of higher ed and regional innovation ecosystems, but at significantly larger scale and with a STEM focus.
Others
- Inside Higher Ed: Primary US media and events company covering higher education professionals. Comparable as a touchpoint for the same higher ed professional audience Venn targets, though positioned as content/events rather than advisory or peer learning.
Direct peers
- Aspen Institute: Runs cohort-based leadership and fellowship programs that convene professionals in structured peer learning experiences. Highly comparable to Venn's 8-week Roundtable cohort format and similarly monetizes curated peer experiences around leadership development.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Venn Collaborative social profiles
Digital presenceVenn Collaborative financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Venn Collaborative leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Venn Collaborative funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Venn Collaborative M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Venn Collaborative
What does Venn Collaborative do?
Venn Collaborative provides advisory, networking, and professional learning services to higher education partnership professionals and to institutions, leaders, and community/economic/workforce developers. Its named offerings include the C•CUBE Toolkit, C•CUBE Peer Learning Roundtables, Strategic Advisory services, and free C•CUBE guides on ecosystem building and aligning partnerships, priorities, and impact.
Is Venn Collaborative a public or private company?
Venn Collaborative is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Venn Collaborative founded?
Venn Collaborative was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Venn Collaborative based?
Venn Collaborative is headquartered in East Longmeadow, United States, in the North America region.
How does Venn Collaborative make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Online Courses/Products are the primary driver. The others are strategic Advisory Services and peer Learning Roundtables.
Who are Venn Collaborative's main competitors?
Startup Genome is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are EDUCAUSE, Huron Consulting Group, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Battelle. Inside Higher Ed is listed as an others. Aspen Institute is listed as a direct peer.
Does Venn Collaborative have an API?
No public API is recorded for Venn Collaborative.
What industry is Venn Collaborative in?
Venn Collaborative's product category is Higher Education Partnership Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAGAH, Peer Feedback, Discussion Forums & Social Learning Communities. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8742.